1G Bare block Cleaning

[Anfurnyy]

Those of you who have cleaned the inside of your block while its out. What was your process and how successful was it?

I pulled my motor to build it and its really dirty, plus i did some grinding for the Kiggly Girdle install, and ive done the porting/smoothing of the front oil passages on the front. Im worried that these shavings have gotten in the oil Gallery and might hurt the motor later on. I DO plan on bringing the Head and the block in for a hot tank and cleaning but i wanted to personally clean and remove as much contaminates from everywhere as possible.

What process have others used? I have degreaser, and a pressure washer, brake cleaner, ATF and i have all the freeze plugs removed, and an air compressor with an air gun. What have you used to keep the block from surface rusting after pressure washing it?
or should i leave it completely up to the the shop do clean?

I have searched and seen a few posts from Bogus about a final cleaning after the shop. I've also watched jafros video about block prep but I wasnt sure if that might be enough to do a deep clean of the gallery or not.

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[1990TSIAWDTALON]

I pressure wash mine at the carwash and then coat it all in ATF as soon as I get home. Compressed air thru all of the passages and holes until its dry. I also use a gun cleaning kit to get into the oil passages with the little brush also. Clean it until a white rag comes back white. Keep the cylinders and any machined surfaces oiled with ATF or WD40, ATF being what I always use as it is also a detergent. Just my procedures for the last 40+ years.
Also don't forget to clean the crank dead end journal holes as they always have a bunch of gunk in them.
Marty

 

[Anfurnyy]

I pressure wash mine at the carwash and then coat it all in ATF as soon as I get home. Compressed air thru all of the passages and holes until its dry. I also use a gun cleaning kit to get into the oil passages with the little brush also. Clean it until a white rag comes back white. Keep the cylinders and any machined surfaces oiled with ATF or WD40, ATF being what I always use as it is also a detergent. Just my procedures for the last 40+ years.
Also don't forget to clean the crank dead end journal holes as they always have a bunch of gunk in them.
Marty

Thank you! That's what I was looking for. After getting it home, you coat pretty much everything with ATF? Or just the machines surfaces?

 

[BLACK'98DSM]

Any parts that are bare metal need to be coated with something to prevent flash rusting. WD40 is what I used and it worked great. Just be sure you clean it all off before assembly. Brake parts cleaner is great for that

 

[Anfurnyy]

Any parts that are bare metal need to be coated with something to prevent flash rusting. WD40 is what I used and it worked great. Just be sure you clean it all off before assembly. Brake parts cleaner is great for that

Awesome thank you! That helps out a ton

 

[1990TSIAWDTALON]

As Solomon says, any lube. I only put ATF on the machined surfaces not the block casting. Its a good time to radius any oil drain holes for quicker return to the pan also.

 

[Anfurnyy]

As Solomon says, any lube. I only put ATF on the machined surfaces not the block casting. Its a good time to radius any oil drain holes for quicker return to the pan also.

So don't worry about rusting on the crankcase casting in the block, Just machined surfaces? Just wanna make sure!

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I'll do some research on the oil drain holes and likely do that too.

 

[1990TSIAWDTALON]

Well just hose them down with the thinner fluid, like Water Displacement Formula #40 to retard rust there. It will protect those areas. The super nice machined surfaces need at least ATF, motor oil or I've even seen wheel bearing grease just to keep it pristine. It depends on how long the surfaces will be "waiting" to be assembled. Very Soon = WD40, Not sure = thicker rust preventive until ready.

 

[Anfurnyy]

So this is what i did:
wire wheeled only the outside of the block to get a lot of the gunk and what no off (obviously not on machines parts)
Degreased followed by brake cleaner around the outside
used pipe cleaners inside every hole i could get them in. Oil gallery, feeds, returns, inside the block, inside the expansion plugs.
Sprayed down everything with Degreaser. Inside, outside, inside everything i could get to, let it soak for a couple minutes making sure it didnt get too dry.
Sprayed off with pressure washer. Made sure to get inside every nook and cranny I could. All oil holes, including the oil jets, bearing oil feeds, the main oil gallery ( even removed the rear plug and sprayed in from behind) Just literally everywhere.
Sprayed off with compressed air right away, drying off the machines surfaces first, then the inside of the block, followed by the outside.
Sprayed the entire inside and outside of the block with WD-40, and a little inside the expansion plugs, and down into the oil and return passages from the deck Surfaces as well.

All bearing surfaces, deck, bores and front case wiped down with ATF, then engine bagged up.

This all sound good? anything else anyone recommends?

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[1990TSIAWDTALON]

Sounds like what I would do if I were storing it for any period of time. I have seriously seen some OLD TIME mechanics put grease on all the machined surfaces before and 20 years later, it looks like crap but you wipe off the old dirty grease and the surfaces are pristine.
Your block should be good for quite a while.
I would periodically look at the deck and the bores just to make sure they don't need any more lube, gotta keep MR RUST away!

 

[Anfurnyy]

Awesome thanks! ive never personally washed a block before, let alone an iron block. I wouldnt doubt it actually! Grease can do some pretty great stuff hah
Im hoping it wont be too long, but next up i need to measure piston to wall clearance to see if it needs bored with the Manley Pistons, and from there ill take it in and have them probably clean it again, and bore it out if necessary.

 

[Anfurnyy]

Also don't forget to clean the crank dead end journal holes as they always have a bunch of gunk in them.

I read that post post just now and it seems you've had good luck with not removing the balls and just blowing the buildup out with brake clean? I'm not sure I have access to a welder competent enough to pull the balls Lol

 

[1990TSIAWDTALON]

It takes a good amount of time to make sure that those dead end journals are clean but take that time to do the best you can do. Your bearings/motor will thank you 50k miles later.
And I didn't trust a welder around my crank either.........flush, flush and flush some more.